That was the thinking when the Detroit Tigers used their beloved furry mascot in an Aug. 23 Twitter video to show fans that shipping boxes containing the giveaway replica Alan Trammell jerseys had arrived at Comerica Park in time for the new Hall of Famer's number retirement ceremony three days later.

It was a safe way for the team to let everyone know that a mistake — giveaway jerseys for Jack Morris' number retirement two weeks prior failed to arrive on time — wouldn't be repeated.

"Something difficult happened so we wanted to have some fun with it and let our fans we know a mistake was made but wouldn't be repeated. What better way than Paws going through the jersey boxes?" said Ellen Hill Zeringue, who has been the Tigers vice president of marketing for the past 10 years.

The 18-second Paws video, viewed more than 15,000 times, was an example of how mascots in the digital age have evolved into a Swiss Army knife for sports teams to employ for promotions, messaging, corporate sales and loyalty building. Gone are the days when a mascot simply walked the concourse and stands, interacting with children and being goofy.

Now, professional sports mascots are used in far more sophisticated ways to communicate messages, serve as brand ambassadors, generate revenue, and create lifelong fans.

The Detroit Lions and Detroit Pistons this year used their mascots Roary and Hooper in a series of schedule-reveal videos to let fans know who they are playing this season — a popular trend across pro sports. The mascots also attend events with companies that advertise with the teams, participate in civic events, and are hired out for parties, weddings, etc.

The characters also are important for the offseason when the players are no longer in town.

"It provides us that tool that we can always reach out to the community," Hill Zeringue said. "It's an offseason tool to keep the brand out there. Paws becomes the 40-man roster. Paws is an important extension to remind people we are here and care, when we can't send a player."

How they're used

Thanks to the advent of social media, sports teams have a variety of platforms to instantly deploy their mascots beyond games and events.

The Pistons made Hooper the star of a series of 29 funny videos on social media, one for each of the teams Detroit will play this year. For example, to unveil the dates for the Toronto games, the video is of a guy in a dinosaur outfit dancing to rapper and Raptors fan Drake's "Kiki" — and then Hooper comes flying in to tackle him.

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Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons mascot Hooper attended Troy-based Flagstar Bancorp Inc.’s company picnic this year as part of a corporate advertising deal between the bank and basketball team.

The Pistons are running a contest for fans to vote for their favorite Hooper video. The videos so far have amassed 656,000 view across the team's social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), with 4.7 million total impressions, the team said. The Hooper-tackling-the-dinosaur video has 74,000 views.

The Pistons use Hooper for less serious messaging when they can be lighthearted. The schedule videos fit snuggly into that strategy.

"It's more mascot-appropriate. The digital market is perfect for it. It hits a different demo," said Diane Ferranti, the Pistons' vice president of production and programming. "Hooper can do things and be silly."

Hooper also helps generate revenue by being part of the corporate advertising sales packages assembled by the team's business unit. For example, Hooper attended Troy-based Flagstar Bancorp Inc.'s company picnic this year as part of bank's wider deals that include its logo on the team's game jerseys.

And as for all teams, Hooper merchandise can be found at the arena and online for sale, another way of using the mascot to generate sales. None of the teams will discuss their finances, so it's unclear just how much money they make off their characters' likenesses.

For iconic mascots like the Phillie Phanatic, the sales can be eye-popping. The Phillies told Forbes in 2016 that mascot merchandise accounted for 10 percent of all retail sales at their ballpark, which was more than any single player's sales at Citizens Bank Park.

None of Detroit's mascots are quite as popular or well-known beyond their markets at the Phanatic and the San Diego Chicken but they still generate cash and engender good feelings.

"People love to buy Paws merchandise," Hill Zeringue said.

The Lions use Roary to make new fans/customers. For example, the Roary-led Cub Club is for kids up to age 14 and its $40 price includes events, such as a sleepover on the Ford Field turf and a movie night, merchandise, tickets to a preseason game and discounts.

"It's our way of engaging with that next generation of Lions fan," said Emily Griffin, the Lions' vice president of marketing.

Like Hooper, Roary was part of the Lions' schedule-reveal video that revealed 2018's opponents. He was shown running on a treadmill trying to snatch a toy bird on a stick (Arizona Cardinals) and chasing a laser pointer dot (Panthers).

The Lions plan to again capitalize on Roary's popularity later in the season, too. For the L.A. Rams game on Dec. 2, the scheduled halftime entertainment on the field is a mascot bowl, i.e. Roary and other NFL and local mascots play against each other in a football game.

How we got here

Sports teams used animals or even children as informal mascots in the 19th century, with logo characters coming largely in the 20th century. It wasn't until the 1970s that the first modern-era character mascots appeared — the San Diego Chicken, who wasn't formally a Padres mascot but served as one, and the Phanatic created by the Philadelphia Phillies.

That spawned a wave of mascot births. There are thousands of them for high school, college, minor league and major league teams globally. Amusement parks and corporations use them, too.

Mascots have been the subject of Hollywood attention in recent years: The 20-episode Hulu series "Behind the Mask" was an inside look at high school, college, minor-league and pro mascots that ran from 2013-15. Comedy director Christopher Guest in 2016 debuted his mockumentary "Mascots" and HBO's "Hard Knocks" NFL training camp series did a 10-minute tongue-in-cheek version of just mascots — including Roary.

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Mark A. Cunningham

The Detroit Tigers’ Paws works during the season and the offseason.

In Detroit, Paws was introduced in 1995 and the Pistons' Hooper came a year later (he replaced the unloved Sir Slams-A-Lot, who lasted just two seasons). The Lions' Roary first hit the Ford Field turf in 2007. The Detroit Red Wings don't have a costumed character for their Al the Octopus.

While the teams may be rivals for fan dollars, the mascots play nice.

"Paws gets along really, really well with Roary and Hooper. They're really good friends," Hill Zeringue said. The three often appear at community events together.

Paws has the largest social media reach, with 17,000 Twitter followers and plenty of usage in the team's official social media accounts, and may be the most recognizable of the three mascots.

Paws averages 500 annual appearances aside from 81 home games a season. Roary and Hooper each make about 300 appearances a year.

Fans and companies can book Paws at $160 per hour. Roary begins at $175 an hour.

Inside the costume

None of the three Detroit pro teams were willing to disclose the identity of the actor inside the mascot suits, or make them available for an interview, because they want to protect the public-facing characters of Paws, Roary and Hooper. The teams did say each mascot has been in costume for several years. All are currently believed to be men, but it's known that women have played Paws in the past.

To prepare for the role of in-game entertainer, the actor playing Paws watches a lot of YouTube to be up on latest songs and dances, Hill Zeringue said. The Tigers trust him as an expert on the team and character.

"He has great insight into who we are as a brand," she said.

Unlike many major league mascots, the Paws actor works as the character part time, and has another job outside of baseball. Roary and Hooper are full-time team employees.

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Diane Ferranti, the Pistons’ vice president of production and programming

Five different actors have portrayed Hooper, and the current one has been inside the suit for several seasons, Ferranti said.

"He's our biggest fan and best ambassador for the team," she said.

The actor inside the Roary costume had done the character for five years. "His role full time is 75 percent coordination of all things mascot, and 25 percent in youth football and programming through clinics and corporate partners," Griffin said. That includes up to 100 youth football camps.

The Roary actor handles the mascot's social media himself. Roary has more than 4,000 Twitter and 4,000 Facebook followers and nearly 600 more on Instagram. He's mostly, however, used in social media via the team's official accounts that have far greater reach — about 3.5 million followers across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Tigers and Pistons have their social media coordinators handle the mascot accounts instead of the actors. That's common practice in major leagues, but in the minors the actor often handles everything from tweeting to booking appearances.

One sports organization that was willing to forgo actor anonymity was the United Shore Professional Baseball League in Utica. A developmental league begun in 2016 by Rochester sports entrepreneur Andy Appleby, the USPBL has four teams and four mascots on hand for every game during the summer.

One of the league's mascots is Lancelot, a furry gray unicorn (with a baseball on his horn) that represents the Utica Unicorns. Inside the Lancelot suit this summer was Ortonville native Hannah Lapanowski, who was a USPBL marketing intern.

She's a sports management major and soccer player at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois, and said the mascot experience was both enjoyable and useful for her career. As "Lance" she mainly interacted with children, helped with promotions and greeted fans at the gates.

"Even adults were excited to see a unicorn," she said.

Lapanowski, 20, estimated she was in a mascot suit at least 30 times this season, mainly as Lancelot but also as Buzz the Beaver and Ribbi the frog — but not as Woolly of the Westside Woolly Mammoths because she wasn't tall enough to see out of the costume's eye holes.

The USBPL plays outside in warm summer months, and the mascot suits get hot inside, Lapanowski said, so they are packed and sent every Sunday to professional cleaning, and after each game they get a spritz of Febreze and other cleaners.

"They're taken care of, but it does get pretty cruddy in there. It was nice getting assigned Lance, because it was my own sweat," Lapanowski said, laughing.

The pay

The USPBL uses a rotation of unpaid interns and college students for mascot work during games, Appleby said, adding that appearances outside games earn them a small stipend. The league trains the mascot actors how to interact with children and fans.

"As with all of our employees, we train on the Disney model, so we are looking for mascots who help to create that special experience for fans, especially kids," USPBL founder Appleby said.

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Bill Shea/Crain’s Detroit Business

The United Shore Professsional Baseball League in Utica has four mascots that perform during games at Jimmy John's Field. Each suit cost about $5,000 and was worn by interns this season.

The Tigers, Lions and Pistons each declined to discuss mascot pay.

Professional mascot guru David Raymond offered his insight: Actors just starting out at the lowest level of minor-league baseball might be paid $12 to $50 a game. That can ramp up as personal appearances increase. Full-time mascots in the minors start at about $26,000 a year and with incentives can top $30,000 annually — along with benefits such as health care and a 401(k), Raymond said.

At the highest levels, mascot salaries can run from about $75,000 a year to a few hundred thousand dollars, he said.

"Those are the ones that are in the highest demand, requiring a great deal of experience and talent. It's not dissimilar to a major league player," Raymond said. "There are only so many spots available."

Raymond, at 21, was the first person to don the famed Phillie Phanatic outfit. It was 1978 and he was paid $25 a game. He worked the role for 17 years.

"When I left, I was making a very nice salary in six figures," he said.

Now 62, he owns West Grove, Pa.-based Raymond Entertainment that designs and builds mascots for teams and corporates, offers repair, cleaning and storage; trains mascot actors; and provides consulting services on how to best use the characters to drive fan loyalty and build revenue. Raymond also does headhunting for teams and companies seeking mascot actors.

The Raymond Entertainment mascot creation inventory includes the Toledo Mud Hens' Muddy and Muddonna, the Cincinnati Reds' Gapper, Burnie of the Miami Heat, the Tampa Bay Lightning's Thunderbug and Victor E. Green of the Dallas Stars. The stable includes many minor-league and college mascots, too.

"A lot of organizations forget the power their character can do, the incalculable value their characters can bring," Raymond said. "Why do people love mascots? It's a component of powerful fun. They distract people with fun. They make them feel better. They drive happiness through their performance."

Physical toll, safety, smarts

Like athletes, the mascot life wears an actor out. There are muscle pulls, soreness and the occasional broken bone or torn ligament. No one is in a suit doing hundreds of games and events in their 60s, Raymond said. By their mid-40s, many mascot actors begin turning the costume and character over to younger actors.

"The physicality is demanding," Raymond said. "It requires a high level of physical fitness. You have to take care like an athlete."

While Hooper is more a personality mascot than a physical-driven character — some NBA mascots perform extreme stunts and dunks — there is still risk of injury, and the job is a hustle that takes a toll on the actor, Ferranti said.

"It's a very, very physical job," she said, adding that Hooper and other entertainment performers have access to the same training and medical staff and equipment as the team and gets a health club membership. "The training staff make sure he stays in good shape."

As is standard practice with all mascots, each suited performer has at least one handler to act as their eyes and ears — vision is limited in the costumes, and they can be unwieldy to maneuver — and to also ensure kids and fans don't get too handsy.

Interaction is critical to the success of a team's mascot. They each have brand guidelines and rules to follow for interaction, behavior and how to disengage from situations.

"We have those conversations at the beginning of the year with our mascot and promotions team," Hill Zeringue said. "One wrong mistake can wind up on social media and live forever."

That happened last season when the New York Mets had to reassign the actor playing their "Mr. Met" mascot after video emerged of the character flipping his big cartoon hand into a middle finger after a game.

Safety for the mascot him or herself can be a concern. Mostly, the worst the Paws experiences is a child yanking his tail, Hill Zeringue said.

Mascots can interact with unpredictable young children, abusive teens and with fans who are sometimes drunk or over-exuberant or angry. Players also sometimes get too rough with mascots, Raymond said. The padded fur suits and foam heads provide less protection than you'd think.

"Players don't understand that you can get hurt by throwing ball, bat at you," Raymond said.

Monetizing mascots

Raymond's Phanatic and the San Diego Chicken are widely credited with launching the ongoing popularity of team characters. By the late 1980s, Raymond said, most teams realized they could profit from the mascots in a variety of ways. That's why he took off the Phanatic suit and moved into the business of creating mascots and telling teams how to make them work.

"When it became a business model, that's when it started to take off. Once money is there, people listen. They wanted us to tell them how to do it," he said.

His lessons are simple.

"They have to work hard creating a back-story to connect that new character to that fan base and community at large," he said. "If people don't care about your character, it's not going to work well. You weave in what's great about your city, your community and what's great about your organization."

Teams also have to spend money to make money with mascots, and make it a real part of their games and their promotions and messaging.

"The organization must support it. They have to embrace the character and they have to use it," Raymond said. "They have to continue to invest in character and brand. If they're not using it, people know it's a kid in a costume and don't believe it."

Raymond's headhunting missions and mascot camps aim to find performers who can meet what teams are seeking.

Mascots are usually silent, so they have to rely on physical comedy, often with flamboyant and exaggerated behavior, and do so in a way that engages everyone from young fans to die-hard adult fans. The acting ranges from cuddling babies and toddlers to signing autographs — not easy with big fur paws — to stunts, slam dunks, races, and sometimes even teasing opposing teams and rival mascots.

"A talented performer can bring it to life," Raymond said.

The cost of the costume

Mascot suits in professional sports aren't off the rack. They're custom designed and manufactured, often by hand. So, they're not cheap.

The USPBL paid $4,500 to $5,000 for each mascot suit, which came from Sugar's Mascot Costumes in Toronto, Appleby said. They were designed by West Bloomfield Township-based Martin Sports Creative and by the league's executives.

The Tigers' four Paws costumes cost about $5,000 each and come from Tucker, Ga.-based International Mascot Corp. The costume lasts about two years, Hill Zeringue said.

Roary comes from White Rocks, S.C.-based Scollon Productions Inc. The Lions said they spent $5,000 each on two Roary outfits before last season, and expect to replace them next year. The costume is a lion head, arms and paws, tail and uniform.

The Pistons budget about $10,000 for Hooper costumes — which include heads, bodies, hands, jerseys, and shoes. The Detroit-based Parade Co. builds the pieces, Ferranti said. The team recently bought two new Hoopers.

Mascots, like team uniforms and logos, get tweaked, too. Hooper has gone through several mane changes, and this season will sport a fiery mane.

Hooper in 1996 replaced Sir Slams A Lot, a Disney-designed "palace guard" mascot that lasted two years and proved unpopular, Ferranti said. Hooper's introduction coincided with the teal-colored jersey era and the branding focus on "horsepower" — with a literal horse as the team's logo. The mascot was popular enough to survive the end of that logo and teal phase and the return to the traditional red, white, and blue Pistons branding.